The present invention relates to a bearing arrangement for a rotating shaft. More particularly, the invention relates to a bearing arrangement for a shaft belonging to a driving mechanism for a windshield wiper, for example for a driven shaft on one end of which a driving head for a windshield wiper arm is fixed.
One example of such a known bearing arrangement is the kind comprising a bearing housing in which a bore is formed through which the rotating shaft passes with the interposition of at least a bearing sleeve for the rotational mounting of the shaft in the housing, and which comprises at least an inner radial flange, a first face of which forms a first shoulder for the axial positioning of a seal provided in the bore which cooperates with the opposite cylindrical surfaces of the bore and of the rotating shaft.
According to this known arrangement, the seal, which is for example an O-ring seal, is disposed between this shoulder and an end annular face of a bearing sleeve made of bronze. The assembly of components of the bearing is performed by introducing axially the ring seal into the annular seat delimited by the bore and the peripheral surface of the shaft, then by introducing the bearing sleeve which is axially driven into the shaft, and which then immobilises and possibly even crushes the seal in the bottom of the seat formed by the first shoulder. Such a design is therefore not satisfactory as it does not allow the position and state of the seal to be precisely controlled at the end of the assembly operation and because it is difficult to replace the seal.